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Schmid College of Science and Technology

» Research

Faculty in the Schmid College of Science and Technology conduct high-quality research and run several research labs that not only produce excellent research, but also actively involve students in the research process as early as their freshman year. Our students can receive first-hand experience in funded research projects of societal importance, have the chance to co-author papers in national recognized journals, or present at national conferences. Our faculty understand the importance of outside funding to support their research and teaching efforts and take pride in the awards they receive.

Students interested in conducting research in any of the following laboratories or centers are encouraged to reach out to the faculty member listed.

Centers of Excellence

Schmid College houses three centers of excellence that promote interdisciplinary research in several scientific fields, focusing on cross-cutting themes that bring different fields together: Data mining, numerical analysis, statistical methods, etc.

Catalysis Research Laboratory

Study molecular interactions in systems ranging from a few atoms up to proteins by learning to use a variety of spectroscopic techniques.

Chapman Biology Education Research Group

CBER is dedicated to improving biology and STEM education through innovative research that examines student and instructor experiences both inside and outside the classroom.

Comparative Biomaterials Laboratory

Study a wide range of materials made by animals, including nano-scale filaments within cells, slimes secreted to ward off predators, and large structures like the keratinous plates of baleen whales.

Ecosystem Ecology Laboratory

Explore anaerobic carbon cycling in wetland ecosystems, ranging from northern peatlands to coastal salt marshes, to understand how ecosystems function and how these functions will respond to ongoing global change.

Food Protection Laboratory

Develop and apply molecular techniques to identify meat and seafood in food products to detect food fraud and food contaminants.

Ibba Laboratory

Work on research to understand the mechanisms that determine how cells ensure the accurate translation of the genetic code, and how changes in the underlying processes impact cellular health and contribute to microbial pathogenesis and disease. Many of these processes are essential and unique to particular systems, making them ideal potential drug targets.

Marine Invertebrate Behavior Laboratory

Explore the neurobiology, ecology, and evolution of invertebrate behavior.

Dr. John Miklavcic Research Lab

Dr. Miklavcic studies the effect of extracellular vesicles from human and bovine milk on intestinal immunity. The goal of his research program is to identify bioactives in food that support optimal growth and development of newborns.

The Senger Food Processing Lab

Dr. Were Senger’s Food Chemistry laboratory investigates Maillard and phenolic-protein interactions and their effect on color and nutrition. The goal is to use the knowledge to upcycle protein and phenolic-rich foods such as sunflower proteins and their by-products for human use.

Atamian Laboratory

Use genomics, molecular, and physiological approaches to understand the complex mechanisms that plants evolved to adapt and survive in nature.

Quantum Computing and Measurements Research

Research quantum information science, quantum computation, and the foundations of quantum physics. These fields are natural intersection points between physics, mathematics, and computer science.

The Goldsmith Laboratory

Use tools from the fields of ecophysiology, ecology, micrometeorology, hydrology, stable isotope biogeochemistry, and remote sensing to develop an understanding of the plant functional response of forests to present and future climate.

The Liberman-Martin Group

Focus on the development of new catalysts for sustainable organic and polymer synthesis to enable more economical and sustainable chemical processes for the future.

The Loon Project

Join the ongoing scientific investigation of territoriality, reproduction, habitat selection, and population dynamics of common loons (Gavia immer) in Oneida County, Wisconsin.

The Lopes Laboratory

Explore the causes and consequences of animal social behavior, with an emphasis on disease transmission. This research integrates several levels of biological organization, including genes, hormones, the brain, the individual, and ultimately the dynamics of a whole social group.

The OMO Laboratory

In the computational chemistry research lab, study the underlying chemical interactions governing molecular structure, reaction mechanisms, and selectivity in chemical transformations, and develop software and informatics tools for chemists to use to rapidly mine, analyze, and visualize chemical data.

The Owens Laboratory

Join this bioinorganic chemistry group to focus on the metalloenzyme nitrogenase in bacterial nitrogen fixation and bacterial heme uptake as a drug target. Their research interests span biochemistry, inorganic chemistry and structural biology.

Verkhivker Research Group in Computational Biosciences

Work on the development and application of computational biology approaches for system-based analysis of evolutionary, genetic, and molecular signatures of human disease; design and discovery of targeted and personalized cancer therapeutics; and the integration of computational biology and chemical biology approaches in translational cancer research.